this latest winter storm may only be getting start today. we'll have the latest warnings and delays and what it looks like for your commute right new no did you watch it yesterday? they came, they talked but the white house health care summit may is v been what the president didn't want. did the give and take accomplish anything? we're live at the white house with a full report just aid head. desperately needed supplies still not reaching those who need it in haiti. still, held up by red tape because the government there says the emergency is over. even when there weren't these hurdles there were tragic delays. soledad o'brien is there to tell us why that decision is causing chaos. the winter storm that is still pounding the northeast as we speak and it's slowing the morning commute to a crawl in many places. it actually got stronger overnight making weird turn if you will and ended up dumping more than two feet of snow in parts of new jersey, upstate new york, and pennsylvania. that's where hundreds of members of the national guard were

actually called up to help deal with all the snow. a combination of 50 mile an hour wind gusts in some places, heavy wet snow, proved deadly in new york city when a hundred pound tree limb came down on a man in central park. a powerful and strange storm has meteorologists fascinated but travelers frustrated and we're all over the extreme weather this morning, rob marciano live, we have reynolds wolf live outside in the elements in philly. first we're going to check in with susan candiotti in central park. this was a scene of tragedy when a huge elm limb went down on somebody that was there. >> oh, yes. it's a horrible tragedy, to say the least. but messy is the watch word here today. look at the snow we're in at the foot of central park on the south end of it right now in columbus circle and you can see some of the tire tracks here. you see they got about a foot of snow here. it has been snowing nonstop since yesterday. as you indicated it's coming down straight, coming across

sideways, and you know they've done a fairly good job of cleaning the streets here in new york. we're seeing barely any traffic, of course, at this hour, but we are seeing some busses go by, but the commute for a lot of people coming in this morning, it's a mess on the tunnel. we hear that in new jersey they have suspended bus service into the city for now. but look at this guy over here at the foot of central park. managed to clear out the sidewalks just a bit so he could open up his coffee shop there. but it did, as you indicated, a walk in the park proved fatal for one man here in central park. the wet and heavy snow proved too much for some trees. raining down branches across new york's central park. in one unfortunate case the timing proved deadly. police say a 46-year-old man from brooklyn was killed when a large limb fell on his head as he walked through the park. just blocks north of that scene, an entire tree fell on a city

bus. forcing police to close part of new york's famous fifth avenue. luckily, no one was hurt there, but crews were scrambling to keep up with trees falling all over the city. >> right now we have trees down at four locations. 76th street, 71th street, 69th street and 68th street. >> reporter: it made for an uglier than usual commute for new yorkers with people literally racing to get home before it got worse. >> jersey it's snowing a lot more. i figure let me go now. >> reporter: the worst wasn't in new jersey. some areas northwest of new york city could see more than two feet of snow. there were some brave souls out during the day. >> driving is crazy today. crazy. ridiculous. >> reporter: by nightfall orange county, new york, declared a state of emergency, banning all but plows and emergency vehicles from the roads. the storm knocked out power for tens of thousands in the area and outages extended as far north as vermont. in fact, the latest numbers, more than 22,000 people without

power in the new york region. also, it's a rarity, but public schools are out here in new york city. and in terms of flights, you better call ahead of time because they canceled more than a thousand yesterday and they're still canceling more this morning. back to you. >> susan candiotti in a snowy central park for us this morning, thank you. so the weather is so bad in parts of northern pennsylvania, the national guard had to rescue some high school students stranded after their busses got stuck in the snow. there's power outages, canceled flights, lots of canceled flights. reynolds wolf joins us live from philadelphia. hi, reynolds. >> hi, guys. we are coming to you from philadelphia. i'm here with kim borelen. for our viewers tuning across america, it's like we're in a giant snow globe. what's on the ground we've had i would say 6 to 8 inches of snowfall. much of it melting yesterday afternoon. last night, a good part of it

was basically like what you see under my feet, but then over the last six to eight hours, it's been a remarkable transformation where we have heavier snow that has been piling up in many places. now, i'm going to pick up where susan candiotti left off. she was talking about the power situation in parts of new york. power in philadelphia for the most part is in pretty good shape. the problem is, we do anticipate the winds to pick up. as the winds pick up we're going to see some tree damages. we have the tree damage there are going to be more power outages. the roadways, also a concern. although we do see traffic moving here along south street, let's watch out, let's not get flattened by one of these trucks. these guys are going to be coming through. they're doing a pretty nimble and slow pace. we have seen a few city busses, a few taxis, things are working but still, if you don't have to go out on the major roadways don't. roads have been treated, in pretty good place. the air going above and below it you're going to have air travel. for philadelphia in terms of

southwest airlines, all flights canceled. you're not going anywhere if you're going to fly that. with the wind conditions and snow, i would not be surprised to see more issues at the airport here in philadelphia, all over the region. it's going to be a big nightmare for a lot of people. that's the latest from philadelphia. let's send it back to you in the studio. >> all right. reynolds wolf in philly, thanks. six minutes past the hour right now. the snow is piling up and the snow is creeping along. how much longer will it last? let's bring in rob marciano. you're a meteorologist. hubby is a meteorologist, no one believes you guys until they step outside and say where did the snow come from? >> yeah. and this storm is a remarkable one for kids and meteorologists alike. a different type of storm track. sitting and spinning, hitting a road block. i haven't seen one of these in years. let's go over the totals first and then show you how much more is coming. po coknow summit, 19 inches, ithaca new york, 16, and central park, 9.6. there is more to come although

it will be winding down as we go throughout the day. the dry air sliding into the northern part of this system but the overall circulation is not moving anywhere. so it's going to sit and spin over new york and pretty much has to wind itself out. all the warm air has been wound out of this system. it's gone. it's aloft. all cold air at the surface from new haven through new york to philadelphia and so the snow that is falling today is lighter and it will be blowing and that will lead to snow drift also. how much more do we expect across the northeast? generally speaking, figure 4 to 8, maybe another 10 in spots today. so take what you see outside and add another half dozen inches, maybe 10 inches in some areas as well. the other facet to this storm we haven't really talked about, is the wind, yes, but also the water flooding rains from connecticut to maine. we've had flooded roads across parts of maine and new hampshire because of the storm surge coming in on the east part of this system. so, almost like a land falling hurricane with snow with this go around.

certainly a remarkable storm and it is not done. we'll talk more about it in about 30 minutes, guys. stay tough up there. i know it's a busy one for you. >> is it going to be so wet, the snow we have right now is so wet and heavy, it's much different than the last couple big storms we've had, just doing our front driveway was really -- it's really heavy, heavy snow. >> and that's the dangerous part of it. tree limbs down. you saw the big tree limbs coming down. that's the dangerous part. that's what knocks out power and makes it difficult to remove. temperatures are dropping so the snow will become lighter but we're getting more snow on top of the wet snow so it's not going to get easier. >> it's a different consistency for sure and causing a lot of problems for the power companies around the area. all right. rob marciano, we'll be checking in with you a lot this morning, thanks so much. >> all right. eight minutes past the hour. other stories, taliban claiming responsibility for coordinated suicide bomb attacks in afghanistan. at least 17 people were killed in two huge explosions at a hotel in the heart of kabul and

dozens of others were hurt in those attacks. a taliban spokesman says five suicide bombers carried out the attacks which occurred about 20 minutes apart. congressman karls rangel received a formal admonishment today for breaking house rules. the ethics committee said he accepted caribbean trips from a company that lobbied congress. rangel says it's his staff's fault and he shouldn't be blamed. rangel is chairman of the powerful weighs and means committee yao. seaworld says it has no plans to release the killer whale that drowned its trainer. this is amateur video that was taken moments before the 12,000 pound orca named tilikum grabbed trainer dawn brancheau by her pony tail and pulled her into the water. autopsy results showing brancheau died of drowning as well as multiple injuries. shows in orlando and san diego are going to be canceled again today. the parks themselves are remaining open. trainers are being offered counseling and as of this point they say they're still evalua

evaluating the future when it comes to the killer whale show. >> it's chilling to know all those people were there when it happened. >> all right. >> still to come on the most news in the morning, democrats and republicans sit down and talk health care. it was six hours long, but did they accomplish anything when all was said and done? ed henry is going to be breaking it down for us in just a moment. ten minutes past the hour. first in the real world. and put it through its paces. they rate its fit and finish and the amenities inside. they factor in purchase price and operating costs. fuel economy and resale value. in short, they do what you do to test its quality. now get a low mileage lease on this 2010 malibu for around $199 a month for 39 months. call for details. see your local chevy dealer. the $100 cream. flabbergasted when we creamed the $700 cream! for under $30 regenerist micrm hydrates better than 32 of the world's most expensive creams.

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of veterans still suffering from injuries and illnesses, 19 years later. va secretary eric shinseki said his department will take a fresh look at these cases and improve training for medical staffers who work with gulf war veterans. to the president's health care summit. after an all-day televised meeting at the white house with leaders from both parties it appears that democrats are ready to go it alone on health care reform. the bipartisan summit was in itself and on its face histic, dominated by fundamental differences between the two sides. this morning we're asking did anything really change? ed henry is live at the white house for us this morning. you've covered this for years, you have acovered washington, you've covered politics, what stuck out for you about what we saw go down yesterday? >> you're right. after years of covering the white house i've never quite seen a summit like yesterday. the president of the united states taking this effort to go across the street to historic blair house and try to hash this out with republicans. but i think you're right, the

bottom line question after all of the history onics, did it change any minds? >> reporter: the stakes couldn't be higher. he's betting his presidency on getting a health reform deal. this was his last-ditch attempt to save it. >> what i'm hoping to accomplish today is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ, but focus on where we agree. >> reporter: a tall order when you throw dozens of members of congress into a made for tv drama at the historic blair house. >> can i just finish, please? >> reporter: the president's 2008 rivle, john mccain, quickly tweaked him over campaign promises. >> eight times you said that negotiations on health care reform would be conducted with the c-span cameras. i'm glad more than a year later that they are here. unfortunately, this product was not produced in that fashion.

it was produced behind closed doors, it was produced with unsavory, i say that with respect, dealmaking. >> reporter: the president defended the transparency of the talks and gave as good as he got. >> let me make this point, john. we're not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> i'm reminded of that every day. >> yeah. >> reporter: even the sharp exchanges were civil. if a bit jaded. each party hammering familiar talking points. >> the health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water and you don't see that shark until you feel the teeth of that shark. >> regulate all of this? people in washington decide how this works and what you condition and cannot buy. >> reporter: after about six hours republicans believe they made their case to the american people, that the president's

plan is simply too costly. >> it means for millions of americans, premiums will go up because when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up and they will also go up because of the government mandates. >> reporter: democrats believe the president got the better of the republicans. >> so, lamar, when you mentioned earlier you said premiums go up, that's just not the case according to the congressional budget office. >> mr. president, if you're going to contradict me, i ought to have a chance to -- >> no. let me -- and this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight. >> reporter: a cnn fact check gives the edge to the president. the cbo found that his plan would lower premiums for millions of americans. and those facing hikes would get better coverage. the bottom line is there was no major break-through yesterday, no republicans saying they're ready to cross the aisles and support the president's plan. the bottom line after all of this is that the democrats are privately getting ready to use

this process, this procedure, the shortcut known as reconciliation, so they don't need a super majority, just a simple majority in the house and senate. they haven't pulled the trigger on that. they're just getting ready on that. still, they do not clearly have the votes in the house and senate, even just simple majority. it's still far from reality, whether the president can even get his health care effort on civil majority. a lot of work for democrats ahead. >> ed henry for us, thanks. also for full coverage of the ongoing health care debate you can head to cnn.com/healthcare. up next on the most news in the morning, new help for the unemployed and unemployed homeowners may be on the way. gerri willis, "minding your business" this morning.

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u2 said it better than we could. get on your boots. this is a shot from pennsylvania, near scranton. the 30 degrees but the story is all that snow out there. look at the truck going by with a nice flatbed full of snow in the pick-up truck.

20 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in your morning. we're minding your business. gerri willis is here to give us maybe good news for unemployed. a new plan on the table. >> there are a lot of plans out there, most of them haven't worked. mortgage bankers association proposing a new plan that would allow unemployed homeowners to stay in their homes. let's talk about the details of that. they would allow mortgage payments to be reduced nine months for 31% of whatever income you might have if you're unemployed that would include your jobless benefits. borrowers would repay the mortgage in full because they would opt into the president's making home affordable plan and they would roll in the money that they hadn't paid, the debt they still owed into that loan. then they would be reevaluated every three months as they're in this program. now i spoke to john coursen who runs bankers mortgage association yesterday and he says i have no idea how much this would cost. it's a proposal right now. as you probably know, treasury has been considering how to help jobless folks who are getting

into foreclosure the old-fashioned way. they don't have any income. they're trying to think of new things to do, including a possible ban on foreclosure. that's something else that's being discussed by treasury, which would essentially what they're talking about, you couldn't go into foreclosure unless you had a conversation with your lender and they considered modifying that loan. the reality, guys, is that we are throwing everything we can against the wall, trying to figure out a program that's going to work. you know, local programs, small programs in philly and connecticut, have had more traction in some cases than the national programs we've talked about. >> because the real estate market is so local. every different little plague of foreclosure is different. people's situations are different and to have a big fix from, you know, from the top down is a little difficult, isn't it? >> absolutely. and i think at this point, there's so much frustration out there. we only had something like 112,000 folks who were helped out by making home affordable. we're trying to find some other kind of solution out there for people who are in real trouble.

>> it's common sense if you don't have a job they can modify your mortgage all they want, you can't pay it. >> that's what's difficult. >> this would be the bridge to getting to a plan you could actually go into. see if it works, if treasury likes it, if they take the bait. >> gerri willis, "minding your business." up next on the most news in the morning, they make too much to qualify for government assistance, not enough to afford their own health care. called the working uninsured. is there a plan to help them. 23 minutes past the hour. . i'm on an aspirin regimen now. my doctor told me it's the easiest preventative thing you can do. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. see your doctor. simple. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] all we ask is that you keep doing what you've always done.

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♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. 26 minutes past the hour right now. a week-long examination of broken government continues this morning, and right now lawmakers in washington, basically spinning their wheels while health care costs continue to skyrocket. millions of people are living without insurance and it's not just the people who have no jobs. there's a growing number of working americans who simply can't afford insurance. david mattingly joins us live now from new orleans with an "am original." some of the people you spoke with are trying to find creative ways to get coverage. >> that's right, kyra. cheat and easy health care is something workers dream of finding. some in new orleans are actually getting that chance. >> that will work. >> reporter: marcel had to drop his health insurance about seven years ago, at $500 a month he

says it got too expensive when he had other bills to pay. what sort of choices would you is have to make if you had health insurance? what would you be giving up? >> my daughter kayla's tuition in college. >> reporter: knew couldn't pay -- you couldn't pay your daughter's tuition if you paid for health care? >> i could not. it's one or the other. >> reporter: he is one of an estimated 80,000 people living uninsured in new orleans. he's among the working uninsured, stuck making too much money to qualify for government assistance, but not enough to afford health insurance. but while the health care debate rages in washington, rivera and others like him are finding another option. down here on canal street, there's a clinic that's quietly giving these uninsured workers something they haven't seen in years. affordable health care. >> it's upstairs, this way. it's a short climb up an empty stairwell to what used to be sunday school classrooms at a methodist church. and this is where we find a

clinic preparing for explosive growth. how many patients do you expect to have here? >> we expect to see first year, about a thousand patients. and then growing that exponentially. >> reporter: luann is the director of new orleans faith health alliance which charges working uninsured families a small fee to join, then just $20 a visit for the same basic care they would get at almost any doctor's office. no tax dollars involved. >> oh, yeah. every day. >> reporter: uninsured welder herbert sanchez says he's already more than $30,000 in debt after emergency gallstone surgery. the clinic offers care his family otherwise would have to do without. >> i know -- >> reporter: surprisingly, clinic administrators do not believe whatever reform is passed in congress will make health care affordable for many of the working uninsured any time soon. >> it's going to take a while, if they enacted it tomorrow, it's going to take a while for

all this, what do you do? >> i'm not hearing a lot of optimism at this table. >> reporter: but marcel rivera, who is on the clinic's board of directors, hopes affordable insurance is on the way. if not, he has to find a way to stay healthy for four more years when he qualifies for medicare. and this clinic provides a safety net for those uninsured workers for primary care and wellness care, but if they're injured or have any serious illness they have to go to the hospital they still do not have that safety net. this is some of the stress taken off of them but not perfect. >> you're still, you know, praying there's not an accident, praying there's not a catastrop catastrophe. david mattingly, thanks so much. all right. just about half past the hour. that means it's time for this morning's top headlines. people in the northeast waking up to near blizzard conditions, heavy, heavy wet snow creating danger on the road. grounding close to 1,000 flights. and taking down trees and power

lines. rob marciano, rob marciano coming up to tell us where we could see as much as 3 feet of snow. seaworld says it has no plans to release the killer whale that drowned its trainer. we have some amateur video that was taken just moments before the 12,000 pound orca name tilikum grabbed trainer dawn brancheau by her ponytail and pulled her into the water. autopsy results released show brancheau died of drowning and multiple injuries. the shows right now in both seaworld orlando and san diego will be canceled again today, but the park will be open. we're going to have much more on this story later in the hour. it appears democrats are ready to push forward on health care reform on their own. president obama's bipartisan health care summit failed to bring the two sides closer on key areas of disagreement. republican leaders want to scrap the existing bills and simply start over, but democrats refuse, saying that's not an option. six weeks after the earthquake in haiti and thousands of people are still starving, and many more living in tent cities and thousands

have been dead still don't have their own graves, but the government there has inexplicably declared the emergency is over. >> that decision is stopping even more people from getting the food, water and medicine they need. people who clearly don't agree that things are back to normal. soledad o'brien has the story from port-au-prince. >> reporter: earthquake relief supplies have been flowing in and out of haiti's main airport, bypassing typical customs, delays and taxes imposed on foreign imports. the government didn't impose restrictions allowing the quick distribution of tents and medicines and other goods. >> from the airport. >> how do you expect they're going to come down here and help when we can't get our medical -- >> reporter: this week the government said the emergency situation is over. officials ordered customs agents to stall relief supplies until they can insure the organization qualifies to bring in goods tax-free. an official with the department

of civil protection told us by phone haiti wants to make sure commercial groups don't sneak in contraband or bypass taxes. some relief organizations say the delays mean desperately needed supplies are sitting at the airport. >> we don't have anything to even see the patients we were supposed to come down here to see. >> how many patients are we talking about? >> probably 300 a day. >> reporter: they've been told the only way they can get them out quickly is to pay custom taxes. that can run as high as tens of thousands of dollars when you're talking about tons of food or construction equipment to rebuild or repair. >> how much money do they want you to pay? >> i'm trying to find out? what are you bringing in. >> i have 250 tents i'm giving to people that are without shelter. >> reporter: the alternative, emergency relief organizations could wait to be certified by the government. some small relief groups we talked to found themselves with no cash to pay and no time to wait as they arrive here on short-term missions to help the

needy. >> a bunch of things shipped in to us to help us to repair houses, to tents to give away to people that need homes, and right now we can't get our things out of customs. >> reporter: the government says relief organizations should turn their relief supplies over to the haitian government, to be certified as donations. the government promises to give them back once they confirm the organizations are eligible for tax exemptions. we asked a customs director why the materials can't just be donated? the response we got, no response at all. >> i just want to understand why people when they come to get their things, have to pay so much money? why a tax? it seems if you're donating things like tents and food, they should be just donated. >> he cannot answer that question. >> there's not one person in this building who can answer the question, why tents can be

donated. two relief workers we spoke to who have been working in haiti a long time turning supplies over to the government and hoping they turn them back to you is a little too risky for them. a doctor we spoke to says she's only in town a few days hoping to help people and waiting really isn't an option for her. all of them are calling their donors and informing them they may have to pay taxes on the things they thought they were donating and giving to the people of haiti who need them so desperately. soledad o'brien, cnn, port-au-prince haiti. the haitian government says it is not stalling relief supplies. under haitian law the emergency ended after a month. and going forward they need to make sure that all relief supplies are really going to the needy. they estimate that process could take a week. it will be interesting to see, though, i mean, soledad clearly called them out on it and nobody could give them an answer as so why they would try to tax something like tents in the midst of an emergency. >> the government trying to regain control after an international television, it's

been clear the government has had no power or control even before this disaster, quite frankly, but if it is stalling relief getting there and stabilizing the situation it would be too soon for the government to try to be, you know, putting back their rules and trying to take control again. clearly it's a dysfunctional situation. i don't think that is a controversial statement at all. >> at the end of the day it's these people that are literally starving and dying and living in tent cities that need the help. i mean that would qualify for those people as an emergency continuing. we'll continue to follow that story. great reporting from soledad this morning. >> rob tracking a monster storm pounding the east coast right now and will continue to swirl here and continue to dump a lot of very wet snow. the latest forecast straight ahead. chevy malibu stands behind theirs for up to 100,000 miles. which makes it pretty clear whose standing out front. a consumers digest "best buy" two years running. chevy malibu. compare it to anyone and may the best car win.

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welcome back to the most news in the morning. australia is warning israel that there could be a diplomatic rift between the two countries off last month's assassination of a hamas leader in dubai. some suspect an israeli hit squad using fraudulent australian passports killed mahmoud al mahoub. >> they're concerned israel may have condoends the use of those

bogus passports. investigaterings trying to track down the killer. they have their hands full. >> reporter: here at mi-6 in london, britain's global spy headquarters they know how tough it will be to crack this case. a handful of assassinations that have never been solved in this country. now, privately, officials in two countries that have had their passports used in this operation, have told cnn they are getting nowhere in this investigation and that's despite what they call a meticulous dubai investigation and all that cct footage. the problem, the mug shots you see here could depict the assassins already in disguise or maybe some on the hit squad have already changed their appearance. now let's take a look at the operation itself. it spans the globe, really. dubai officials say it was all staged in austria. operatives funneling all their information through a central command there, false identities

and passports came from ireland, britain, france, germany and australia. interesting here, dubai authorities say there must have been at least one reconnaissance mission, and maybe more. now let's go through that cctv footage with bob heirs, a former cia officer. >> what i'm trying to see is hefty up top, let's see what he looks like when he comes out now. >> goes in. >> comes out with a disguise. >> freeze. >> surveillance is watching for this bald guy, and suddenly he's gone and there's now a dark hairy guy with glasses in front of them and they're still is looking for the bald guy. it's another way of an extra added security to throw off any surveillance. at this point in time this is really interesting because the woman is looking right into the cctv camera. >> she's spotted. >> she knows it's there. looking up, she's not afraid of hig her picture taken. looking right at it. >> this suggestion they were sloppy having their identities

exposed on cctv. >> it's a suggestion that's not founded in reality. somebody doesn't know what they're talking about to make that kind of a suggestion. the man on the right is going to go to verify the room number that the target is in. this man is staying behind to perform surveillance to make sure nobody comes in and interrupts the guy checking out the room number. >> nothing about this from your training that appears strange to you. >> no. >> textbook? >> that's a good operation. good operation. they had advanced notice of their target's moments. they prepared people to travel and assassinate the target. they coordinated multiple flights for multiple people all around europe, arriving at the same time. they got in place, they they killed their target, they all went back and disappeared into the mist. that's a pretty professional operation. >> reporter: even though so much of it was caught on cctv, we're here now with the organized crime agency, the ones in charge

of investigating this in britain. there are clues from the credit cards used issued by a bank in the united states and information on the escape routes to frankfurt, hong kong, rome, bangkok, doha with many of the suspects tracked to the same city, zuric. from there, though, the trail goes cold. officials in several countries confirm a few things to cnn. for starters they say this investigation would be a a lot easier it if they had some of the original travel documents used and they say they expect their citizens to get a lot more scrutiny when traveling to the middle east. finally, they tell us, israel is still mot cooperating with the investigation. paula newton, cnn, london. it is fascinating. >> a real cloak and dager. >> "born identity" the movie script. snow coming down in parts of the northeast. rob tracking that storm. all right. good morning, rob.

tell us what we're in for. >> better days ahead. it's going to take a while to get to those days. today it's going to be a slow-moving storm, historic for parts of new york. we're going to run it down where it's going next when cnn "american morning" comes right back. client's come in, they're anxious.

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our kids than keep them fit. it seems to help their grades. a ucla study of middle and high school students found those who took the longest to complete a one-mile fitness test, also had the lowest test scores. if you don't have time to exercise there is good news. you don't have to spend hours at the gym to get results you want. a lot of experts say that interval training is twice as effective because the short burst of intense exercise sessions can basically pack a week's worth of workouts into less than an hour. these sessions were originally developed for olympic athletes but studies show most of us can handle kicking up the intensity a notch and bringing it back down. women over 50 with fatty diets are raising their risks for a stroke, especially if they eat a lot of cookies and pastries because they're loaded with artery-clogging transfats. a federal study of more than 87,000 women found had that those who ate the most fat were 44% more likely to suffer the most common form of stroke. those are the health stories. john and i always go back and forth about the interval

training. >> what does john say? >> he doesn't like it as much as i do. i think it's great. he says in terms of fat burning it's not -- he doesn't believe it'sed a good in terms of fat burning. i like it. i think your body -- if your body knows you're going to run for three miles and run at the same pace, it knows it can sort of -- >> i like to wait for the health study that core responds with what i do in my life. if you wait long enough there will be a health study. >> running after soon-to-be three kids will be all the cardio you need for the week. >> oh, man. and all the cardio you need shoveling snow. be careful. it's 45 minutes after the hour. a check of the weather headlines. rob marciano is in the extreme weather center in atlanta. be careful. lift with your legs, right. >> that's right. use your legs and be careful and help thy neighbor if they're elderly. we're not done with this thing yet. sitting and spinning, wind with it as well. on most of the areas now that were rain yesterday, turned over to snow with the exception of extreme coastal new england.

where there was rain, there was some pretty heavy duty wind gusts. parts of maine 70 mile an hour gusts, concord, 68-mile-an-hour wind gusts. couple that with some snow, at least further to the west, and you're going to have some drifts for sure. over a foot and a half in poconos and northern new jersey. we're getting a little dry air in here but you also see that circulation really isn't moving all that much. with snow falling mostly to the south of new york and into new york proper and jersey continues to be the hardest hit at this point, but temperatures are far enough below freezing where we're starting to see a little bit of a drier snow. look at all the warnings and advisories that are up from northern new england all the way down to north carolina. as a matter of fact, in parts of the cen trap appalachians, including north carolina and virginia, we've had blizzard warnings out for the rest of today, in the higher elevations, and windy conditions with high wind warnings posted for baltimore and d.c. so even though you're not seeing a whole lot of snow down there,

you're getting the wind. now the 4 to 8 inches expected in the areas that got a foot, foot and a half, so we could see -- we will see total accumulations and in new york city, for instance, of 12 to 18 inches before this is all said and done and it won't be done until well into tomorrow. back up to you. >> rob marciano, thanks, rob. check in with him again. >> we sure will. >> our top stories. a missing actor, found dead in vancouver, why a former "growing pains" star may have taken his own life. at 15 after, new information about the deadly killer whale attack at seaworld. new video taken moments before the 12,000 pound orca attacked and whether it will now be let go. at 50 minutes past the hour, a special report on broken government. is a town making its people sick? did their leaders ignore it? those stories and more coming up in our next hour.

welcome back to "american morning."

52 minutes past the hour. stalled efforts at health care reform one example of the party san grid lock that led to a broken government. hyper part skinship, people he calls wing nuts are at the heart of the problem. >> he has a special edition of wing nuts of the week. john is in tallahassee, florida. your special edition of wing nuts of the week pertaining to our broken government sears altogether. let's talk about the health care summit yesterday and did you think that was a real display of bipartisan or did you think that was a political theater? >> i actually thought it was civil and substantive, but there weren't any major breakthroughs. i think it gets filed ultimately under the category of photo op bipartisan. what's frustrating for so many folks listening at home is to hear the reluctance around the table saying on all these specific things they agree on and yet they're unable to get past that impasse, partly philosophy, but mostly partisan

politics. >> let me play devil's advocate. the refreshing nature of seeing people come face to face and sort of hash it out, as opposed to letting the spin machines go into effect after the fact or, you know, sending mass e-mail out, refuting the other guys, they were at least in there with their hands rolled up trying to sort of refute each other. was there anything that struck you as refreshing about that? i haven't seen it in a long time. >> i think it's great when the president and congress sit downs together at a table. it reminds people that, you know, there can be civility and accountability when people sit down at a table with the cameras present. there's an exchange of ideas. it's honest, it's invigorating. what -- it's a matter of also moving beyond that moment to real progress. on the one hand, i think they should do more of those. i wouldn't hold my breath, i don't think it's going to happen. i think it's a great moment for the president and the american people. but when they -- >> i was going to say, you say hyper partisanship is what is ruled and has led to a dysfunction in the government and it's the heart of its current problem.

take us through some of the seminole events that you say have led up to this moment where we are, where it's such a big deal to see them getting along around a big table. >> that's exactly right. remember, roughly one year ago, president obama was in his honeymoon period, approval ratings near 60% and rush limbaugh said four words that help turn the tide -- "i hope he fails." who knew at the time that would become a rallying cry for many folks on the call of the aisles. a ca of course it's not all one side. neither party has a mow know poly on virtue or vice. the stimulus bill, the way it was passed, amount that was passed, ended up turning a lot of people against the democrat control of congress and seemed to undercut a lot of president obama's post partisan promises. 11 democrats ended up voting against the stimulus bill. one blue dog democrat jim cooper from tennessee had a revealing

comment, speaking of nancy pelosi and the liberal house leadership, he said they don't mind the partisan fighting because that's what they're used to. they're a little worried about what a post partisan future might look like. that showed this was all going to be heading a more partisan direction than the american people hoped and would believe. >> one of the things you talk about when you call people out as wingnuts, injecting fear and hate into the debate as well, you can't just disagree but you have to vilify your opponent. where have we seen that over this past discussion of health care especially? >> that is one of the biggest things is that we've had policy debates derailed by advocates who are playing to people's worst instincts, pumping up hate in the service of hyper partisanship. one of the people who have come to symbolize that is former republican house member dick army, head of an advocacy organization, helped pump up a lot of protests with language like this, saying in front of one crowd, nearly every important office in washington,

d.c., today's occupied by somebody with an aggressive dislike of our heritage, our freedom, our history and our constitution. now once you start using language like that to incite crowds and service of partisanship that's going to lead to dysfunction, anger fear and division. >> how is washington broken? how is it broken, our government by this wingnut behavior? >> it's really paralyzed and polarized more than ever before. i mean the voting patterns in congress are more polarized than ever before. the problem is that was the first year of the obama administration. politics usually take hold even more aggressive way as we head into the mid-terms. unfortunately you look at the political environment right now and you can only say soberly this is likely to get worse before it gets better. an election year there are people going to be slinging more wingnutry and fear in the past year. >> well, at least you did the smart thing getting to florida and staying out of the snow. john, great to see you as always. thanks so much. john's book "wingnuts hijacking

america" is available in book stores right now. >> we'll take a quick break. your top stories 90 seconds away. ind. if perfection is what you pursue, this just might change your course. meet the new class of world class. the twenty-ten lacrosse, from buick. may the best car win. blend it. sprinkle it. sweet! [ male announcer ] grilled. filled. chilled. sweet! [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. more ways than you ever imagined. [ male announcer ] flakes. shakes. cakes. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda® starts with sugar. tastes like sugar. but it's not sugar. it's... [ male announcer ] savory. crunchy. yummy. sweet! [ female announcer ] splenda®. america's favorite no calorie sweetener.

there you go, a live look at new york city. a powerhouse snowstorm pounding the city this morning. cabs are slipping, people are sliding, more than a foot of wet, heavy snow on the ground right now. welcome back to the "american morning." top of the hour, christine romans sitting in for john

roberts. >> i'm kiran chetry. we begin with what is a deadly winter storm that's still dumping snow and sleet, also flooding parts of the northeast this morning. parts of the region could see as much as 30 inches of snow by the time all of this is over. some are calling the snow, really they're calling it a snow hurricane because of the blizzard-like conditions, the high winds, snow and ice coming down sideways, gusts up to 55 miles an hour. new information for people stuck at the airport, the dangerous conditions have forced american airlines to cancel 42 flights this morning. that's on top of close to 1,000 flights that never got off the ground yesterday. amtrak says it will cancel a number of trains in the northeast its busiest corridor. >> we're all over the extreme weather. susan candiotti live in central park, meteorologist reynolds wolf down the jersey turnpike in philadelphia for us this morning. let's check in with our meteorologist rob marciano live in atlanta to show us who is getting the worst of it and how this is going to pan out later

today. hey, rob. >> hey, kiran. this has expanded and strengthened overnight and will weaken a little bit today. the growth of this thing is amazing. first to monroe, new york, north of the jersey border where that's where some of the most snow fell over the last 24 hours. look at it come down yesterday. my goodness. there's no way that those plows were going to be able to keep up plowing the roads or snow blower when coming down that hard. two, three, some cases 4 inches of snow per hour, that is amazing. boston, how about you folks. you saw mostly rain with this. there's a live tower camera for you, sun trying to peak through you, wcvb. you have your own problems in boston. all the rain led to a number of flood warnings not only inland but coastal flood warnings in effect today. to hampton beach, new hampshire. this is what i'm talking about, 15 to 20 foot waves, 60-mile-an-hour gusts, you bet roads are closed because not only the rain, but the waves and the atlantic ocean making inroads inland.

all right. where's the snow now. most of the snow is where it was rain yesterday, so the cold air has infiltrated the area. we do expect to see more in the way of accumulations today, especially in new york, down through philadelphia. temperatures a little bit cooler now, so yes, it is wet and heavy, but the snow that's going to fall today will be a little bit lighter but it will drift because of the winds. we anticipate 4 to 8 inches of additional snowfall on top of where we are today. winter storm warnings in effect for the new york city metropolitan area until 6:00 tomorrow morning. that's the latest from here, guys. this is a blockbuster of a storm. the fourth major winter storm of the season to hit the northeast. see you guys in about 30 minutes. >> what a whopper. rob, thanks. some huge new snowflakes coming down in new york city, the combination of 50-mile-an-hour wind gusts and that heavy, wet snow proved deadly when a 100-pound tree limb came down on a man in central park. susan candiotti is outside central park with the latest. >> reporter: the wet and heavy snow proved too much for some

trees. raining down branches across new york central park. in one unfortunate case, the timing proved deadly. police say a 46-year-old man from brooklyn was killed when a large limb fell on his head as he walked through the park. just blocks north of that scene, an entire tree fell on a city bus, forcing police to close part of new york's famous fifth avenue. luckily no one was hurt there. crews were scrambling to keep up with trees falling all over the city. >> right now we have trees down at four locations, 76th street, 71st street, 69th street and 68th street. >> reporter: it made for an uglier than usual commute for new yorkers with people literally racing to get home before it got worse. >> jersey is snowing a lot more, so i figure let me go now. >> reporter: the worst of it wasn't in new jersey. some areas northwest of new york city could see more than two feet of snow. there were some brave souls out during the day. >> driving is crazy today. crazy. ridiculous. >> reporter: but by nightfall,

orange county, new york, declared a state of emergency, banning all but plows and emergency vehicles from the roads. the storm knocked out power for tens of thousands in the area, and outages extended as far north as vermont. and joining you now live, here's a look at what things are starting to appear to be. now in the morning. as the sun is coming up. we're seeing a little more traffic, a few cabs now than we did before. one being towed by a tow truck. they're talking about maybe up to 30 inches of snow in some parts of new york. about a foot here. you can see some of it is gathered up. we have seen some snowplows going by and in some areas, the streets are clear, but as soon as the plows go by it doesn't take long for them to be covered again by snow. yesterday, slush. now we've got ice because it's gotten colder and snow on top of that. just a real quick chat with this gentleman who came in from a commute from where? >> queens. >> how was it? >> it wasn't that bad.

i mean, it was bad, of course, but there were a lot of people on the trains coming to work. >> and now you're seeing the sidewalks here are pretty clear, but how was it working out? >> it was worse in queens. like up to your knees. it was kwquite a walk to work. >> curious to see how many people will show up to work today. >> yeah. >> so again it's going to be a bit of a mess. public schools are closed for the day here. some bus service out of new jersey coming into the city, suspended for now. many flights canceled. it will be a mess today. back to you guys. >> susan candiotti n central park, we'll check in with you again. the weather is really bad in parts of northern pennsylvania. in fact, so bad the national guard had to rescue some high school students that were stranded after their busses got stuck in the snow. there's also power outages we've been talking about this heavy, wet snow downing trees and downing power lines. our reynolds wolf is live in philadelphia this morning. good morning, reynolds.

>> good morning, kiran. snow really began to pick up last night around 2:00 in the morning and then really started to let up just a little bit. but not before dumping i would say around 6 to 8 inches in this area. the roads are pretty good for the most part. they have been treated. you see a lot of slush down the roads. susan was talking about that issue in new york. the thing interesting about this scenario, not just the snow, as my friend rob marciano has been talking about all morning, not just this, it's the wind. the wind is going to play a huge factor. there's a reason for that, america. the reason why the wind is going to be a big issue because you look up at these trees over here, ken boreland our photo journalist has a shot of that, you will see these trees are coated with the snow. and all the way down this thorough fair off second street, you can see the tree lined streets have a lot of snow. when the wind picks up the trees are going to move, when they move with the frozen stuff on it, the ice and snow, we're going to see some of these branches break and more power outages. power outages for the time being have not been too significant. you can see here, things are

pretty nice in society hill. you have all the lights on, traffic is moving through, but as wind picks up we're going to see more of those issues. in terms of air travel susan was talking about that, here in philadelphia, all the flights of southwest airlines have been canceled. in terms of other transportation, city busses they have been out and about but it has been sporadic at best. same with taxis. anyone getting on the roads must use exbe treem caution. many places we have ice covered by a thin veneer of snowfall. it's going to be interesting to see all the schools are out, some businesses open and people are moving as you can imagine very slowly. let's send it back to you. >> reynolds wolf for you in philly, thanks. other stories new this morning, at least 17 people were killed in two huge explosions at a hotel in the heart of kabul. dozens more were injured. the taliban is claiming responsibility for the coordinated suicide bombings. a taliban spokesman says five suicide bombers carried out the attacks which occurred 20 minutes apart. the father of missing actor andrew koenig says that his son

took his own life. koenig's body was discovered yesterday in a park in vancouver. the 41-year-old actor who you may remember from starring in the '80s sitcom "growing pains" was visiting friends in vancouver when he disappeared more than a week ago. new york congressman charles rangel will receive a formal admonishment today for breaking house rules. the ethics committee found he accepted caribbean trips from a lobby -- from a company rather that lobbied congress. rangel says it's his staff's fault and he shouldn't be blamed. the action could jeopardize rangel's chairmanship of the powerful weighs and means committee. a burglary suspect gave police a lot more than they bargained for. you can see on the dash cam video the suspect was handcuffed in the back of a police cruiser. he jumps out, there you see it, gets into the front seat, and he sped off. clearly he was somehow managed to get out of the handcuffs. police say he used an officer's cell phone to call his girlfriend and tell her he had just stole an police car. the chase ended with a crash

that totalled the cruiser. the suspect is charged with 11 separate criminal counts. >> or he had the handcuffs in front of him which might not be a good idea. >> how would he call the cell phone too? >> true. >> must have found a way to get out of those things is. >> two parties and one president in one room to talk about one issue, the health care forum made for good tv but did anything really get done? our senior white house correspondent ed henry is taking a look coming up next. >> at 15 minutes past the hour, seaworld reassessing its procedures and where it goes from here two days after a killer whale grabbed a trainer by her hair and pulled her under water to her death. ahead, how the theme park is responding to the demands from some animal rights group this orca should be released back to the wild. at 50 after, a special report on broken government. dr. sanjay gupta investigates a louisiana community where people say they're being poisoned by toxic chemicals. why did it take the why did it take the more than a decade to do something about it? it's nine minutes after the hour.

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the president's health care summit is history and the all-day meeting of democrats and republicans did not produce a meeting of the minds. republicans say it did nothing to change their position and democrats say if the gop won't cooperate, they'll pass health care reform without them. senior white house correspondent ed henry is following developments for us. >> reporter: the stakes couldn't be higher. he's betting his presidency on getting a health reform deal. this was his last-ditch attempt to save it. >> what i'm hoping to accomplish today, is for everybody to focus not just on where we differ, but focus on where we agree. >> reporter: a tall order when you throw dozens of members of congress into a made for tv drama, at the historic blair house. >> can i just finish, please if? >> reporter: the president's 2008 rival, republican john

mccain, quickly tweaked him over campaign promises. >> eight times you said that negotiations on health care reform could be conducted with the c-span cameras. i'm glad more than a year later, that they are here. unfortunately, this product was not produced in that fashion. it was produced behind closed doors. it was produced with unsavory, i say that with respect, dealmaking. >> reporter: the president defended the transparency of the talks and gave as good as he caught. >> let me just make this point, john, because we're not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> i am reminded of that every day. >> yeah. >> reporter: even the sharp exchanges were civil, if a bit jaded. each party hammering familiar talking points. >> the health insurance industry is the shark that swims just below the water. and you don't see that shark

until you feel the teeth of that shark. >> regulate all this. should people in washington decide how this works and what you can and cannot buy? >> reporter: after about six hours, republicans believed they made their case to the american people, that the president's plan is simply too costly. >> it means that for millions of americans peopliums will go up because when people pay those new taxes, premiums will go up and they will also go up because of the government mandates. >> reporter: but democrats believe the president got the better of the republicans. >> so, lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said, premiums go up, that's just not the case, according to the congressional budget office. >> mr. president, if you're going to contradict me i ought to have a chance to -- >> no. let me -- and this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight. >> reporter: a cnn fact check gives the edge to the president. the cbo found that his plan would lower premiums for millions of americans.

and those facing hikes would get better coverage. where does that really leave us? the president likely now to pursue a democrat's only strategy on capitol hill by using that maneuver known as reconciliation where you just need a simple majority. it's not clear yet it's going to work. first of all, kick up a lot of controversy among republicans using that tactic and even among his fellow democrats it's not clear yet the president can get a clear majority in both the house and senate. so even after all the talk, after all the debate and maybe all the maneuvering, still not clear the president is going to get a victory. >> and the plot thickens. thanks so much, ed henry, in washington. 15 minutes past the hour. an am follow up on the killer whale that killed its trainer at seaworld. there's been calls to release tilikum back into the wild or some sort of sea sanctuary. seaworld is responding to those demands and saying they're not going to do that. we do have new pictures as well this morning of the trainer's final moments with the massive

partner that she loved so much. >> reporter: this video of trainer dawn brancheau, performing with tilikum, was shot by a seaworld spectator, shortly before the six-ton killer whale grabbed her by the ponytail and pulled her under water. the orange county sheriff's office told larry king last night she died from multiple traumatic injuries and drowning. >> right now, we're obviously, concentrating on sending our thoughts and prayers and any support that dawn's family needs to them and we're sending our deepest sympathies to them, of course. on top of that, we're doing an investigation into exactly what happened so that we can determine what steps to take next. >> reporter: while seaworld officials review all procedures the shamu shows in orlando and san diego will, again, be canceled today. although the parks will be open. trainers are also being offered counseling. and seaworld confirms its plans

to keep tilikum in its orlando park, despite calls to release the killer whale to a seaside sanctuary. and that's not sitting well with animal rights groups. >> if i were a parent, i would run screaming from this place, not only because my child might see a trainer killed, but might come away with the idea that this is all right, acceptable way to keep animals and it isn't. >> reporter: park officials say setting tilikum free is not an option because he's been in captivity so long, he would likely die in the wild. and they won't consider putting him down. as for conditions at the park, agriculture department inspectors visit once a year to make sure the animals are being treated humanely. despite a few minor violations the usda calls seaworld, quote, a top-notch facility that cares for its animals. >> it is chilling to see that video in the moments before she was killed. tilikum is said to be worth

millions to seaworld. this is a whale that has sirds many of the killer whale cavs who perform and live there. >> this whale was born in captivity or the wild. >> this whale was taken from the wild but since then, as they said, he sired so many other killer whales, orcas born in captivity, and, you know, there were some who argue, marine biologists, when you take a whale from the wild it is a different life and hard adjustme adjustment. bipartisan lives, could it be? candy crowley will tell us to what degree and will it last? that's next. okay, sweetie, open wide and say "ahh." ♪ ahh ♪ ahh ♪ ahh ♪ ahh ♪ ahh

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no girls. just 21 minutes after the hour. time for minding your business. a new effort to get america working again making it a vacation destination. the senate yesterday approved the travel promotion act. the bill is aimed at luring tourists here and their cash. >> there you go. come on over. the water is fine. >> gerri willis joins us with more on this and she's minding your business. >> good morning. great to see you. you pretty much said it. this was passed by the senate. it's a program that was really initiated by the travel industry to boost tourism here. they say they can create as many as 40,000 jobs. let's see how it would work. essentially they would charge a $10 fee to foreign travelers and folks from 35 countries that don't need visas to get into this country. they would pay an extra $10 every two years and there would be up to $100 million from the travel industry. now, the travel industry says, our business is not that great when you talk about people coming to this country. they say since 2000, visits have gone down 9% and say we're an important part of the economy, so let's talk a little bit about

what they think could happen if they invested an additional 1.6 million visitors might come to this country, boosting spending by $4 billion and creating 40,000 jobs. the senate was all over this. some republicans having objections saying don't we already spend for this? think about it like a convention and traveler's bureau in a local city. you know, you always have those, you know, promotional campaigns that go on and there's really not that done for the u.s. the u.s. is the only developed country that doesn't do this kind of thing. >> they never had to before. >> you always see the visit israel sign, the big posters. >> explore ireland. >> explore the usa. come to new york when it's snowing. >> it's a a treat. >> gerri willis. >> it's a treat or something else. i don't know what it is. >> thanks, gerri. still ahead, the president's health care summit. we're going to be speaking with ken thorp and dr. bern na dean healy. was anything accomplished? and some say scrap it, some say

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[ male announcer ] aspirin is not appropriate for everyone. so be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. i was the guy who was doing everything right. i was wrong. talk to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of. [ male announcer ] learn more about protecting your heart at iamproheart.com. welcome back to the most news in the morning. top stories just minutes away. first, all week long, cnn's been looking at washington gridlock and our special series "broken government." today we wanted to find out is bipartisan completely dead? our senior political correspondent candy crowley sat down with two long-time senators who say no, not yet anyway. >> you all, almost came to the senate together. >> yeah. >> couple years apart. >> couple years before. >> reporter: he is a conservative from indiana. he is a liberal from vermont.

theirs was a friendship born in obscurity. two very junior senators at the far reaches of a committee room table. >> herman said jimmy, cuts on a deal. and neither one of us could hear what they were muttering. i asked, could i see what was in that amendment? you could see the two look down like who are these two guys at the end? takes his gavel and says, we're adjourned. >> reporter: after more than 35 years patrick leahy and richard lugar are senior senators now. a lot has changed, except the friendship. it has proven stronger than their political differences. lugar ran for president in 1996. >> just out of curiosity, had senator lugar won the republican nomination, would you have gone into a voting booth and voted for him? >> i find it very difficult not to vote for him. >> reporter: they know each other's families.

they have visited each other's states. >> take back so much of the vermont maple syrup. >> have pat introduce me to all the leaders of the state, republicans and democrats, and really to why he was so interested in dairy, for example, why certain things were occurring vis-a-vis other new england states was tremendous. >> reporter: that's the thing. this is not just about close friends who accept their different views. this is about getting stuff done. the pair revamped the agriculture department and pushed out two major agriculture bills in the 1990s. lugar/leahy farm bill and the leahy/lugar farm bill. there are other bipartisan friendships on the hill. >> probably happens as more than you see. >> even if they disagree sharply, they have really compassion and respect for each other as human beings. there will be things which are not going to be on the same

page, but we will not commit political suicide so stop each other. >> reporter: fund raising and trips back to the state take up enormous amounts of time. many lawmakers don't move their families to washington. a pity. >> dick's son and daughter-in-law and i and our daughter and son-in-law live about 100 yards from each other and there's a playground nearby and you see the kids playing there all the time. they're trading toys. we call it the bipartisan playground. >> we cherish those moments with john and kelly lugar and their three very beautiful children and they literally are that close to pat's beautiful children. >> reporter: this year, the senior senator from indiana and the senior senator from vermont, are working together on retooling the school lunch program and on two refugee immigration bills. one authored by leahy/lugar, the other by lugar/leahy.

candy crowley, cnn, washington. candy next hour will join us live to talk health care and ethic problems for new york congressman charlie rangel right here on the most news in the morning. 30 minutes past the hour, that means it's time for this morning's top stories. people in the northeast waking up to near blizzard conditions. heavy, wet snow creating danger on the ground. grounding close to 1,000 flights and taking down trees and power lines. rob marciano coming up to tell us where we could see as much as 3 feet, kiran. >> goodness. explosives shaking kabul. 17 people killed and the taliban claiming responsibility for as many as four suicide attacks. a hospital official says many of the dead are foreigners. these blasts literally shook our correspondent ben wedeman out of bed. he's going to be joining us live with more on the aftermath and what happened in about ten minutes. the house voting to extend a lifeline for 1.2 million out of work americans receiving jobless benefits. unemployment benefits and subsidies through health

insurance through cobra are set to expire for these more than a million people on sunday. it's up to the senate to pass this stop-gap measure. all week we've been taking a look at why almost nothing has been getting done in d.c. and our special series "broken government." a day after both parties sat down with president obama to talk health care, are we really any closer to reform? here to break it down for us, we have kenneth thorp a professor of health policy at emory university and worked for the health and human services department for president clinton and evaluating what the impact the former president's health care proposals would have had. good to have you with us this morning, kenneth. we have dr. bernadine healy for us, the former director for the national institutes of health. great to see you as well. >> good morning. >> we had this year of back and forth, proposals on the table, something passing in the health, something passing in the senate and the president basically moderating a big discussion and debate about health care. do you think we're any closer to

reform? >> well, i do. i thought yesterday was really monumental. i think we moved past the sound bites and got into substance. i think the american people can sort of see where both parties were coming from. it kind of exposed two big issues pup one is the extent to which we are going to regulate the insurance industry. there are big differences of opinion about how much regulation to have there. the democratic proposals would go a little bit further in making sure that you can't deny people coverage if they have preexisting conditions, for example, and the sect big difference was, how serious are we going to be on covering all americans? the democratic proposal as it stands, would expand coverage to about 31 million americans. that's going to cost some money. the republican proposal would expand coverage to about 3 million americans. there's a big thing there. >> one of the interesting things, this exchange, people are going back and forth about the facts and arguing their points of view. i want you to listen, dr. healy, to the exchange between lamar

alexander and president obama on whether or not premiums would rise under president obama's plan. >> so, lamar, when you mentioned earlier that you said, peopremi go up, that's just not the case according to the congressional budget office. >> mr. president f you're going to contradict me i ought to have a chance to -- the congressional budget office report says that premiums will rise in the individual market as a result of the senate bill. >> no, no, no. let me -- this is an example of where we've got to get our facts straight. >> that's my point. >> well, exactly. so let me respond to what you just said, lamar, because it's not factually accurate. >> so this was fact check, dr. healy, by a lot of folks who essentially called ate draw saying that they were boettcherrypicking information from the reports but it's more complicated than that. doesn't this illustrate how difficult it is to get a straight answer of how some of these changes would affect the

cost and taxpayer in the future. >> i think that's right you picked out an important nugget which is what's going to happen, america is asking, to my premiums and my cost of medicine and the real answer is, it's going to go up. and finally, there was a concessi concession, it will go up, but you're going to get a better policy. that gets to the second issue, which is, that people are going to be getting policies that are selected by the government, sometimes more than they need. the catastrophic policy, was sort of dinged by the president. he believes everyone should have the same policy, same comprehensive policy. maybe that's not what the 30-year-old needs. maybe they can get by very well with a primary care plus catastrophic. but one thing that came through loud and clear, is that d.c. is going to say this is what everyone needs. and the trouble with that is it increases the costs. premiums will go up, especially on young people, and that has to be discussed. it's the one thing i wish that

had been discussed. >> and you know, ken, the other interesting thing, you just spoke to this as well, that the president's plan, democrats say we need to cover 31 million uninsured americans. there's 47 million uninsured americans they argue and when you talk to republicans senator john cornyn, said that's a wildly inflated number, when you talk about people that want and need insurance and can't afford it, you're talking about a much lower number. if you can't agree on who wants and needs health insurance at various stages of their lives how can you move forward who is going to get it under a plan? >> well, i mean, again, going to the facts are really important as we've been talking about. according to the census bureau, about 46 million americans on a typical day don't have health insurance coverage, so that's a fact. secondly, on the cost of insurance if you look at people buying insurance in the individual market by themselves, the congressional budget office has said 18 million will have lower premiums.

that's right out of the cbo report. the remaining 14 million people who buy individual coverage, will either pay the same or a little bit more, but they'll get better policies. just really quickly in terms of -- >> go ahead. >> on this washington issue, the states are much more prescriptive in terms of prem m premiums and what's in a package and senate and house bills. these senate and house bills would provide tremendous flexibility in what would be in these packages. you can buy an insurance package where you would pay 40% of the costs, all the way up to a package where you pay only 10% of the costs out of pocket. so, the packages are much less preparative in the house and senate bill than they are under state regulation on what has to be an insurance benefit. >> we're going to have to leave it there. kenneth thorp and dr. bernadine healy, i thank both of you for being with us this morning. 37 minutes past the hour. e-pebbs ameriprise financial can help. we have over ten-thousand advisors

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♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. in afghanistan, the taliban is claiming responsibility for two suicide bombings in the afghan

capital targeting foreigners. at least 17 people were killed and many more wounded. cnn's ben wedeman is following developments live from kabul. good morning, ben. and these blasts, literally shook you out of bed? >> yes. the blast occurred at 6:35 in the morning on the friday morning, friday is the weekend here, we expected a quiet day but we were all jarred out of bed. our villa is less than a mile from the site of the blast. we rushed there and the action was ongoing. there was gunfight, gun battles going on in the street between the attackers and afghan police. this was not just one bombing. it started with this car bomb. a massive car bomb. and then it was followed up by suicide bombers and also gunmen dressed up in afghan security uniforms. the situation now seems to have called down a bit. we saw investigators both

afghan, french and american, going over the scene, but as we know, there's no question about who is behind the bombing. the taliban wasted no time to claim responsibility for the attacks. christine? >> ben wedeman, thank you so much, ben. women could soon be on the front lines in afghanistan and iraq. the top army brass considering lifting a ban on having women in a combat role. barbara starr is live at the pentagon with an "am origin originaloriginals originalss." you take a look at the unique nature of both of these wars, women are already on the battle ground, if you will. >> oh absolutely, kiran. technicially the law says women are not supposed to be on front line combat units, but, of course, the reality is so very different. >> my convoy was hit by a roadside bomb. it impacted the side of my humvee. >> reporter: army sergeant jennifer huntsjob was to help iraqis rebuild the country, but

suddenly one day, she was in combat. >> i had shrapnel through my cheek, came into this side of my cheek and it left the front. >> reporter: it's not really supposed to be this way. 16 years ago, the pentagon banned women from serving in battlefield units whose primary mission is to engage in direct combat on the ground. but the reality is, today, women are going on patrol, driving convoys, flying helicopters, in a war with no front lines. this week, an astounding admission from the head of the army. >> general, what's your view about expanding the ability of women to serve in combat roles? >> senator, i believe that it's time that we take a look at what women are actually doing and interact in afghanistan and look at our policy and we've discussed this between ourselves here. >> reporter: 235,000 women have deployed to the war zones, 125

have lost their lives, 668 wounded. the military already struggling to allow gays to openly serve, may not be ready for more change. elaine donnelly of the conservative center for military readiness has long opposed women in combat writing recently, women on average do not have the physical capability to lift a fully loaded male soldier who has been wounded under fire. but sergeant hunt, wearing a purple heart, says women and men face the same dangers. >> i do feel that i was in combat, yes. i was engaged by the enemy when they, you know, exploded an ied near my humvee. you can't hit the pause button and say, you know, i'm not -- i'm not supposed to be here, you know, don't shoot at me. >> you know, kiran, officially the pentagon position is that they are not looking at this issue at all right now. i think general casey's remarks

took a lot of people in the pentagon by surprise. right now, here, they have their hands full working on that don't ask, don't tell issue. just yesterday the head of the marine corps said he opposed lifting the ban to allow gays to openly serve in the military. change is pretty hard to come by here at the pentagon. kiran? >> barbara starr for us this morning, thank you. it's 43 minutes past the hour. rob will have this morning's travel forecast right after a quick break. i was just in town for a few days, and i was wondering if i could say hi to the doctor. is he in? he's in copenhagen.

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♪ snoets you. >> pictury of a snowy white circle. you see the cars moving, taking it slower than usual and not as many as we usually see this time, right? >> over in brooklyn it was blowing sideways and in the subways there's still snow coming down through the grates and blowing in the subway. people are saying, i thought once i got down the steps it would be better. >> it's blizzard like. they're calling it a snow hurricane. 27 degrees. more snow later. 35 degrees for a high. and our rob marciano keeping track of all of it for us. >> all right, rob. >> christine, kiran, come on, guys, it's not that bad out there. >> give it to us straight. >> we can take it. >> look at this, though. i mean, exploded overnight. the cloud canopy extends into almost central canada, up through the maritime provinces

down through the delmarva. this thing a beast for sure. if it is not the snow, it's the wind that's killing you in maine. 70-mile-an-hour winds there. concord airport, 68-mile-an-hour wind gusts. new york city, 45-mile-an-hour wind gusts. enough to take down some tree limbs across the city as we've seen. snowfall across pennsylvania and jersey, foot and a half. orange county, unofficial reports of two feet of snow. this thing continues to spin more in the way of snow across new york. pleasantville, new york, on the east side of the hudson river, which actually saw -- it took a while for it to change over from rain to snow. doesn't that just look -- it looks like mush. it is so heavy and hard to get through. they're going to have a tough time digging out as will many folks across the tri-state area. more snow rotating in. we're trying to get some dry air into this thing. it's not having great success. so we do anticipate seeing more significant snowfall today, although it will begin to wind down, at least the snow rates. look at all the advisories and

warnings up from northern maine all the way down to north carolina where right now there are blizzard warnings in effect. snow showers across the appalachians with winds blowing that snow sideways at times, reducing visibilities down to zero. how much more snow do we expect? about 4 to 8 inches on top of what you've already seen. that will bring grand totals 12, to 18 inches in some parts of new york city. >> big block out in the atlantic ocean kind of putting the brakes on this thing as it kind of got to it and stalled and it's doing a bit of a loop loop over new york city. i can't remember the last time we saw one of these things. to get northwesterly movement of the track and see it do a loop like it's doing, crazy storm with wrapping up hopefully what is a crazy winter. looking at the long range models, keep your boots handy. next week, looks just as active for some folks across the eastern seaboard. >> wow. >> crazy meteorologist, rob marciano. >> we're going to become

hardened folks used to the snow. it's like we're in buffalo. >> back in iowa. >> embrace it, guys. embrace it. >> we don't have a choice. >> this morning's top stories minutes away, including the storm. it's dumping snow, as rob told . and we are outside in the elements and keeping a tab on the airports. if you are flying, call ahead because cancellations are piling up. president obama telling john mccain to get over it during the summit, and some other highlights you might have missed. and then look at how people are struggling while the government is squabbling over health care.

54 minutes past the hour. welcome back to the most news in the morning. all week long we have been

investigating broken government, and this morning we are focusing on the environment, specifically one town's fears of pollution and is actually making them sick. the government's failure to the respond to the residents' cries for help. >> you know, we have all driven by places like this. you see the smoke coming out of that, is it smoke or steam and is it good or bad, and what potentially could it be doing to me? that's what the residents have been asking for sometime, and they don't believe that stuff is very good. they have been complaining for decades. residents of the louisiana community say the plants here are making them sick. they are sounding the alarm to anybody that would listen. we put up signs around town

asking them if they wanted to talk about it, and they did. >> reporter: how many people had themselves or a family member affected in some way through illness or something else because of what they believe to be chemical plants? >> i had one kidney removed. >> i go to die go have a hysterectomy like most women there. >> reporter: you did? >> yes. >> reporter: you did, too? >> yes. >> reporter: i could not believe what i was hearing. >> they have no ill effects on the community.

>> reporter: it was not until 1988 where they tested the blood of 28 residents, and what they found were levels of known car sen gins. >> it's not being stored not only in their fat, but also in their pancrease, and in their liver, and you will see die beteas and liver cancer, and in their kidneys and brains. so are there going to be adverse health affects? yes. >> reporter: but even after the 1988 study, there was no federal government action, and instead 2001, there was more tests to see if the levels had gone down. they hadn't. and the tsr concluded they did not pose a health risk but it

needed a new study. >> reporter: didn't the agency fail the people? >> well, i think with all of the agencies and all of the companies and stake holders involved we probably have not done as much as we could. going forward, we need to be talking about the locations of industrial facilities and where people live and keeping a healthy distance between them. >> right now, the epa is conducting an investigation to see if there is that, quote, unquote, healthy distance. and they may qualify for cleanup under the superfund law. we will keep you posted on that. this is what is happening in mossville, louisiana. back to you. >> unbelievable. a great investigation there from sanjay. be sure and tune in to cnn on

saturday, march 20th, 8:00 p.m. eastern. "toxic towns usa," and he will look at how their issues have been handled or mishandled by a broken government. top stories coming your way in 90 seconds.

good morning to you. welcome to "american morning" on this friday, february 26th.

glad you are with us and i am kiran chetry. >> and i am christine romans in for john. now, 3 feet of snow and counting in parts of the northeast. new york city public schools are closed and it's a travel mess, even if you see sun right now this could affect you. we will have the latest travel warnings and delays as well. >> and we will talk more about what is next for health care reform. the majority party still try to go it alone? we are digging deeper with candy crowl crowley. this morning, we focus on health care and the growing number of americans who are employed and still cannot afford to buy insurance. >> what sort of choices would you have to make if you had health insure unaninsurance?

what would you give up? >> my daughter's tuition in college. >> reporter: you could not pay your daughter's tuition? >> i could not. it's one or the other. >> americans too broke to buy health insurance, and a cnn investigation straight ahead. we begin with a deadly winter storm, still dumping snow and sleet and flooding parts of the region this morning. parts of the region have seen three feet, and new information stuck at the airport. conditions forced american airlines to cancel flights this morning, and we are all overt extreme weather this morning. susan candiotti is ankle deep out in the snow, but first we will get to rob marciano. >> a blockbuster for many folks, and some of the video we are seeing now is pre- tea impressive. we will go to monroe, new york, where it was coming down in

buckets yesterday and they had a hard time cleaning up with the plows. there is no way you can possibly keep the roads clear or sidewalks clear for that matter. in pleasantville, new york, a similar scene but not quite as bad. the heavy, wet, snow is making things worse than if it were dry. and let's see what we have left with this particular system. it's sitting and spinning and it's not moving very rapidly, and it's gotten rid of the warm air and now it's all cold. temperatures below freezing and we will see drier snow because of this. we are not seeing a drastic weakening of the system. as a matter of fact, there are still blizzard warnings up as far south as north carolina and western parts of virginia. and flood warnings are in effect

for parts of eastern new england. heavy rain, coastal flooding with big waves and damaging winds, and this thing is not over. we will talk more in 30 minutes. keep your snow boots on guys, we have another 12 to 24 hours of this with more snow on the way. >> you will be a busy man in the next 24 hours. thank you, rob. with the snowflakes blowing sideways, many people are calling it a snow hurricane. it's making driving treacherous as well. susan candiotti is in central park this morning. how are you holding up, susan? >> reporter: pretty well, thank you very much, now that the sun has come up. we are starting you off in central park because it's a beautiful place to be. the snow -- it's about a foot high here, i would say, and coming across the little fence here, we could show you that a fair number of people, all things considered, are out here

for a walk or jog or taking their dogs out for a run, but it's also a potentially dangerous place to stay. authorities are asking people to steer clear if they can. obviously the plays is filled with trees and it's a heavy, wet, snow. it's bearing down on a lot of tree limbs and yesterday a walk to the park proved to be the last one for a 46-year-old gentleman from brookland was killed when a tree broke off and fell on him. another tree foel a new york city bus yesterday, and thankfully no injuries there. and the snow plows obviously have been out all night. we are seeing more traffic than we did before. you can see some cabs, an

occasional bus. the plows are out but are having a tough go of it because as soon as streets are clear they get covered up again. it was slushy and they got colder, and it was icy and slippery. and we are hearing in northern new jersey bus service is suspended. 1,300 flights canceled between today and yesterday. so commuting is going to be extremely difficult this day. public schools are closed so the kids will have a good time. they will be out and about and we will be too so we will check in with you again throughout the day to give you the latest in weather from the new york metropolitan area. >> all right. just a sea of white behind you and will be like that for several more hours.

thank you. all this week we have been focusing on a broken wash. 56% believe the federal government is so big and powerful that it threatens the rights and freedoms of rank and file americans. >> yesterday, there were some moments that were decidedly unscripted. in case you missed it, here are highlights, starting with joe biden who said there was truth to the old joke about his job. >> next, president obama scolding eric cantor for killing trees. >> you know, when we do praupz

like this and stack it up and you repeat 2400 pages and etc., the truth of the matter is is that health care is complicated. these are the kinds of political things that we do that prevent us from actually having a conversation. >> president obama told senator mccain, of course, his rival in 2008, get over it. >> john, and -- >> and can i just finish, please? >> let me make this point, john, because we are not campaigning anymore. the election is over. >> i am reminded of that every day. >> those are just three moments in six sum hours of bipartisan discussion at the blair house yesterday. so what about health care deadlock? was anything accomplished? what happens next? candy crowley will weigh in on that. or as the recession that made us great?

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given the fact that the parties have been at each other's throats on the issue, i thought they agreed on a surprising number of things. >> what i will do is start off by saying here are things we agree on. we agree more than we disagree. all parties in both chambers should be able to agree on it. >> the main point is, we basically agree. >> that's good news. and i'm happy to announce that no agreement was reached. i watch some of the stuff. >> how true, right. wouldn't it be great if they could all agree, but that's not the case. they were all as we saw at one

table trying to bridge the divide over health care. >> it sets the stage for democrats to pass a reform bill with little or no help from republicans, so where does health care go from here? candy, what happens now? the president really did seem to threaten to move forward without republicans, didn't he? >> yes, and they are already moving forward. a couple of things may happen here. first of all, even the democrats on the hill are not exactly sure what the exact process is going to be. there is some bickering about who has to go first on what because there is a whole idea of reconciliation that we keep hearing about, which is basically just a short cut around the senate 60-vote requirement. so it goes around republicans. they can pass something with just 51 votes. and there are all these things that happen beforehand and the house has to get onboard.

so the whole process will take some time. nancy pelosi and on the other side, harry reid, have said they want to do it before the easter recess which is before the end of this month. and then we talked to david axelrod that seemed to indicate that the president would take some ideas from the republicans and incorporate them into something and there is some people on capitol hill, democrats who think they may send up another bill. the process has not been worked out yet, but you are right in the overall vision that democrats and the president are prepared to move on and the republicans are not prepared to move on to give an inch that the whole bill ought to be blown up and restarted again. >> those sitting at home are wondering is there anything that will change? is anything going to happen in the next month? is the way health care, the way

it's done in the country, will it change for me anytime soon? >> i think some of the insurance reforms that most americans can really relate to, perhaps taking away the cap on lifetime benefits also maybe extending the time you can keep an adult child on your own insurance, and the whole idea of preexisting conditions. there are things that matter to folks out there. i know the democrats have come to the conclusion that even if they have to move forward on a bill that may not be perfect, that is better than passing no bill at all. it's an election year after all, and they spent about a year on this, not quite, and they feel a political urgency and policy urgent see to go forward. >> congressman charlie rangel getting admonished for ethics violation in the house. how serious is this for him?

>> it's light. the question is was it enough for him to take away the committee, and it's a powerful committee? the answer appears to be no, but there was not much coming out of the speaker's office as of last night that indicated one way or the other. this had to do with a trip that the congress men took with several other members to the black caucus down to the caribbean, and the group that sponsored that trip took corporate money. two people in rangle's office knew about it. even though it was a fairly light punishment, just a public admonishment, he said afterwards i don't think that it's fair to hold a congressman responsible for mistakes that his staff may have made. he thought it was too much. but it's fairly light in terms of these things. >> how does that go over with

constituents and fellow colleagues, blame it on members of my staff? one was let go, right? >> yeah, throw one under the bus. it's a time-honored tradition for lawmakers. charlie rangel is a pretty solid guy, and he had other ethics around him, and it proven not to be an obstacle for re-election. >> yeah. there has been issues, but he has remained very popular with his constituency. >> what do you have coming up on the show? >> as a matter of fact, we will look at this next, and we will have answers on sunday, and speaker pelosi is our guest, and

mitch mcconnel will be here for the other side. we will talk about health care. >> candy crowley hosting "state of the union" right here on cnn on sunday. aig is your insurance company, because it takes a big hit and we'll tell you about it coming up. my eyes water. but with new zyrtec® liquid gels, i get allergy relief at liquid speed. that's the fast, powerful relief of zyrtec®, now in a liquid gel. zyrtec® is the fastest 24-hour allergy medicine. it works on my worst symptoms so i'm ready by the time we get to the first hole. and that's good because the competition's steep today. new zyrtec® liquid gels work fast, so i can love the air.™

♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. it's 19 minutes after the hour and that means it's time for minding your business. you own them, so you might want to hear this. aig just reported a huge hit in its third quarter. much worse than expected and that's after a couple quarters of turning a profit. they took more than $181 billion from you, the fed of the treasury, and that's why we thought you might want to know about it. >> a $9 billion loss. and apple trying to celebrate a

milestone. 10 billion served. itunes sold its 10 billionth song. she got a gift card. we warned you, don't throw your kids' comic books. john roberts' mother, for example. and the 1939 debut of batman sold for a record $1,075,000. a copy of the first appearance copy sold for $1 million. think of that as an investment.

>> but you didn't know about that back then. look at the cabbage patch kids, worth anything? >> i am impressed you still have that. >> yeah, and i remember the name and he is bald and smelled like baby powder. i remember it. gerri willis is watching your money this morning. >> we don't know if it's going to become a real plan yet. it depends on treasury. and yesterday the mortgage association had a new plan for homeowners to stay in their homes. if this program would help folks if they are unemployed, mortgage payments would be reduced for nine months. and the borrower would repay the

mortgage in full, and reevaluation every three months so you could see. it's an interesting program and you might juan utah to ask where the money is coming from, and they said we don't know how much spending it would be. they want to help folks who are unemployed. this is the big gaping hole in the home affordable program that did nothing for the people who were homeless, and that's the old fashion way of going into foreclosure. and then they want to ban foreclosure unless the lender gets down and talks turkey with the homeowner and has a negotiation to see if they could modify the loan. >> they don't. i have been talking to people that said they could not talk and get into a modification program, because i don't know who is not servicing my loan any more and nobody is returning my

calls. >> it gives them money to delay the process, and typically servicers have no power to forgive debt. that's an interesting thing. we are still waiting for really great results in the programs. 4 million people were supposed to be helped by making home affordable and we have modifications on only 16,000. people bought houses with the help of crazy loans, and now we are paying the price. >> thank you, gerri willis. and here is an avalanche as it happened. this is a first-person account of it. he is wearing a camera on his goggles. he basically survived this, and his camera did as well. can you imagine that scary ride down the mountain? >> we have cameras just about

everywhere now. it's incredible. can you be a fly on the wall where you never would have have seen it two or three years ago. we will talk about health care reform after a lot of talking yesterday and a bipartisan show of conversation, and what happens next? hey can i play with the toys ? sure, but let me get a little information first. for broccoli, say one. for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? pleaseall back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do.

welcome back to the most news in the morning. our broken government takes us to washington while it forced many people across the country to make the call to go without insurance. >> it's not just the unemployed, but a growing number of working americans who cannot afford to be insured. david, some people are finding

creative ways to get medical help without paying the hefty insurance premiums. >> yeah, cheap and easy health care is something people dream about finding, but here in new orleans thousands of workers may have a chance to do that. at 500a month, it got too expense if when he had other bills to pay. >> what would you be giving up if you had health insurance? >> my daughter's tuition in college. >> reporter: you could not pay for her tuition? >> i could not. it's one or the other. >> reporter: this man is among the working uninsured, and stuck, making too much money for government assistance, but

cannot afford insurance. they are finding another option. down here on canal street there is a clinic quietly giving the uninsured workers something they have not seen in years, affordable health care. >> it's upstairs, this way. >> reporter: it's a short climb up an empty stairwell to what used to be sunday school classrooms at a church, and this is why we find growth. >> we expect to see the first year about 1,000 patients and then growing . >> reporter: this charges working uninsured families a small fee to join and then $20 a visit for the same basic care they would get at any other doctor's office, no tax dollars involved. an uninsured welder said he is

more than $30,000 in debt after emergency gall stone surgery. surprisingly, clinic administrators do not believe whatever reform is passed in congress will make health care affordable for many of the working uninsured anytime soon. >> it's going to take a while. if they enacted it tomorrow it will take a while for awful this to roll out. what do you do? >> i am not hearing a lot of optimism at this table. but marcel rivera hopes affordable insurance is on the way, if not he has to find a way to stay healthy for four more years, when he qualified for medicare. there are limitations to what the clinic can do. it provides primary care and wellness care which is very important to the uninsured workers, but if they are injured or have some sort of serious illness, they go back to being uninsured, and with no safety

net, and you heard from one man what kind of debt that can pileup. >> yeah, david mattingly for us this morning. it's shocking when people are forced to make those types of decisions, and we see it every day and it's why so many people think it's a priority. >> the right and the left can agree on one thing, government is broken. no more politics. jack has all the answers. broken government. it airs tonight at 7:00 eastern on cnn. cancellations at the airports are piling up, well over 1,000 expected in the new york and new jersey area airports. call before if have you a flight. close to 400 between american and delta this morning. rob marciano is coming up with the totals and delays and what we can expect for the rest of

the day. a fire that started overnight in an empty ocean front hotel took out an entire block of businesses. it was raining when the fire started but it spread because of high winds from the storm blasting the northeast right now. witnesses say the flames could be seen for miles. seaworld says it will keep the animal that killed the trainer. >> if i were a parent i would run screaming from this place, not only because my child might see a trainer killed but might come away with the idea that this is an all right, acceptable way to keep animals, and it isn't. >> seaworld claims there is no way they could put tilikum back in the wild, because since he has been in captivity so long he

would not survive. seaworld is going through a review of the operating procedures and offering grief counseling for its trainers. and this week we are taking a look at gridlock in d.c., broken government. we saw the lawmakers and the president sit down face-to-face across the street from the white house talking health care, but at the end of the day does it move us closer to getting health care reform passed. the next two were calling for more transparency in washington. joining me now from d.c., the president of americans for tax reform, and then a columnists, and thank you both for being with us. it was a fascinating scene that unfolded. the president leading the

possession of moderator. what did you make of the summit yesterday? >> wonderful in some ways. we compare it to what happened a few weeks ago when the republicans held a issues retreat in baltimore and the president came and started answering questions. that was an hour and a half long session and that was so gripping at the time that it caused people like grover and i who basically don't agree on anything to agree on the campaign to make these things regular. yesterday's health care summit did not fall into exactly what we have in mind because it was very long, and it was also, you know, focused on one subject, and it was in the middle of the long legislative process, and i think each side came in worrying more about their possessioning, and to some degree talking points. it was not as frank in dynamic exchange of views that we saw a few weeks ago or that we could have. and obviously the president

called it because he thought it was too his advantage, and the republicans agreed because they thought it was to their advantage. >> and let me ask grover about that. what did you think the biggest accomplishment happened at the summit? >> that it happened at all. the democrats talked for four hours, and the republicans got two hours. that can't happen again if you are going to have real question time and real debates. this is done where the lobbyists already wrote the bill and there is no discussion about what they are doing it's about a bill that will be passed in a couple weeks. what we need to do is take this and say in the future, starting at the beginning of discussions, let's have real debates, two teams not three teams with -- two-on-one, four hours to two hours is not a grown-up approach to things. >> if you take the democrat members themselves, they had 135 minutes, and the gop had 111

minutes, and then we throw in the president, and he got 122 minutes. when you add the democrats and the president together they did talk twice as much or get twice as much talk time. >> we had the president meeting with the opposition party, and also happening on a regular basis is that not determined by either one side when they feel e it's to their advantage to call one of these. the notion is on a regular basis the president should meet with the opposition party, and this could be down the road when the president is a republican and the opposition are the democrats, to have a free throwing exchange of views on a wide variety of subjects. yesterday's event was very ae loom na ae loom nated. the public can now make i think better determinations about where each side stands. this can only help further debates on other issues if we do more of this and do on it a

regular basis and maybe make it a little shorter so people can watch the whole thing. very few people have the luxury of taking seven hours out of their day to do that. >> what about the timing? i understand it's tough to get that much time on tv, and it was a weekday and people were at work and it started at 10:00, but do you think people are better informed? >> well, better informed than they were. it needs to be regular. let's do it for an hour, hour and a half once a month, and let's get it done. republicans took advantage to reveal charlie rangels' problems. and it would change who the two parties nominate for president in the future because one of the questions you will have to ask is would the guy that you think ought to be the democratic

nominee ought to be able to stand up to questioning. >> very interesting. >> and we do have a website set up with a very unimaginative title, demand question time.com. >> i was going to give you your plug. you said people could sign on and it's demandquestiontime.com. great to talk to you both this morning. thanks. >> thank you for having us. and finding opportunity in hard times. we are going to take you to a program at austin community college that gives kids down and out, kids that really need a chance a second chance. tom foreman will have that for us. great story coming up next. ♪ oh

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just into cnn, newly released about gdp, gross

domestic product. it shows the economy grew 5.9% in the fourth quarter of last year, a bit stronger than first estimated. we will get another revision next month, but what it tells us is that the economy was quite strong in the end of last year after a very, very long period of weakness. and the question is, how long will it last? >> will it carry over into this year? >> i don't know. it showed something was happening last year? >> cash for clunkers? >> i don't know. but we will see if it lasts. low interest rates, yeah. >> we will see what happens. meanwhile all this week we are bringing you stories about however day people are doing their best to build-up america. >> it's a program teaching troubled kids the basis of construction so they can have a

good foundation. tom foreman is outside in austin hi, tom. >> reporter: unemployment is actually something that hurts all of us. you don't think of it that way if you have a job, you think you are okay, but the truth is unemployment can depress wages and affect the tax base, and the one thing you don't want is chronic unemployment, people who lose a job and simply can't get another one. there is a critical time for this, right around the time when you are getting out of high school through the college years and mid-20s, if you don't get into a pattern of getting work then, you run the risk of becoming a chronically unemployed person, and that's what the problem is all about solving. out on the east edge of austin,

rebuilding america starts with rebuilding lives. meet the latest class of the skill point alliance construction gateway, funded by city and tax dollars this is an innovating five-week training program to turn the employable into the employed. >> i am excited, even though it's really intense. >> reporter: the target is individuals over the age of 18 who ought to be entering the workforce but who have little hope of doing so because they dropped out of school and wound up in jail or had some other problem. shawn gomez, for example, had been in and out of prison for robbery by the time he was 25. >> there was no work. it was nonexistent to me, for people like myself. >> if you follow the basics and do them right, everything else falls in place. >> reporter: then he ran into

this man scouring homeless shelters and unemployment lines. >> i look for two things in a student that i think will benefit this, and the second one just as important is an individual that will be a good employee. >> they are taught the boot camp basics, showing up on time and doing what you are told and the language of tools and rules of building all with the goal of helping not just them but the broader community, too. >> we need new people coming in the pipeline, and one of the things that construction gateway does is that, fills the pipeline with entry level construction workers. >> reporter: people we need to economically and physically rebuild america. >> absolutely, absolutely. >> reporter: the result? close to 90% of gateway students are employed within days of graduation and they stay that way.

how confident are you that you will get employment once you leave here? >> 100%. >> reporter: it worked for shawn. he has been on the job for seven years and now is a foreman on an electrical crew. >> this is the sole reason i am employed right now. >> reporter: it's good for them and good for their community, too. i have seen a lot of programs over the years that would say that they train youth to do things. and these are not all young people, and as you could see some of them were older. and i was skeptical, because a lot of time you see a lot of money being spent without result. the proof is in the pudding here, the people getting the jobs and keeping the jobs. this seems to genuinely work, and it works hand and glove in the industry here to make sure you don't just train them and then say good luck, and then they say we trained you and we

will make sure you followed through on it. >> the great news is the construction industry is better off than in other parts of the country. texas economy doing better. the tngs economy is doing better than a lot of other places. that means maybe there will be opportunities for those people. >> that was a great story, tom. i want to thank you for something else, because when you put your money where your mouth is, and boy did you deliver. we demanded barbecue, and not only did we get wonderful and delicious smoked ribs, but this is the big daddy, the big kguy, barbecue like no other, and this is all tom foreman.

>> now that it has been on tv, can you put it on your expense report is what i want to know? >> it's in review. you got great barbecue. >> this will feed the entire studio. >> yeah, we tried to feed everybody. and isn't it interesting that john roberts took the day off, who started this thing. enjoy the beach. >> yeah, sorry. >> it's a good day to be jewish here on "american morning." >> by the way, i did not get left out. look at me enjoying my meal over here. i am telling you, the restaurants here in austin -- i am a guy that travelled a lot and have been to a lot of places, the restaurants here in

u austin, good. >> i hope you had a nice glass of grape juice there. >> yeah. >> reporter: we are building up america, all right. >> yeah, you sure are, one salt lick at a time. >> thank you, tom. still ahead, powerhouse storms bringing more snow and more wind, and some people are describing it as a snow hurricane because that's how strong the winds are in some areas. we have airport cancellations and school closures, and we'll bring that to you when we come back.

all right. we have been tracking the wild storm. they are calling it the snow hurricane. rob marciano keeping track of it. they are calling it because of the winds, but and also you said it was an odd movement to the system, almost like a hurricane. >> yeah, it made a north west turn and mid a roadblock out in the ocean and drifted backwards towards the northwest. the center of the low almost making landfall like a hurricane. there were gusted that got close to hurricane strength. the thursday mo dynamics lookin

hurricane. it reached its peak, and it's like a hall of fame ball player in the twilight of his career, still got game and it's not giving up just yet. 70-mile-per-hour wind gusts in maine, and in look at the new snow totals now. new york city city proper could get over 20 inches of snow before it's all said and done. some dry air tries to wrap up and then it says it's not done, and now it's over queens right now and it's going to slowly drift across long island, and weaken as it does so. but it will take 24, 36 hours before it really gets out of here. we will have a number of warnings from north carolina,

all the way up to maine. and high wind warnings for washington and baltimore. we will see another 4 to 8 inches on top of what we have already seen, so this will be an epic snow maker for the tri-state area. if you cannot beat them, join them, or get one of these. the quakers breed these, and they make great sweaters, so they look very, very comfortable. >> quaker town. great, great area of pennsylvania. and they are very popular, and you save them. i heard they are friendly as heck. >> yeah, and happy in snow storms. think like one of these and you will get through this fine. >> great thing not to be shaved right now if you are out there in the snow. >> let them keep their sweaters now, because they need them.

here is fantastic new study. a week's worth of exercise in less than an hour? what is the secret? for toys, say two. toys ! the system can't process your response at this time. what ? pleaseall back between 8 and 5 central standard time. he's in control. goodbye. even kids know it's wrong to give someone the run around. at ally bank you never have to deal with an endless automated system. you can talk to a real person 24/7. it's just the right thing to do.

♪ well kim back to the most news in the morning.

it's time for your am house call. women over 50 with fatty diets are raising their risk for a stroke, especially if they are eating pastries and cookies. more than 87,000 females, this is a big study, found those that ate the most fat were 44 percent more likely to suffer the most common form of stroke, so put down your danish this morning. >> if you don't have time for exercise, here is good news. take it with a grain of salt. you don't have to spend hours at the gym to get results. interval training could be twice as effective because of a short burst of intense exercise sessions could pack a week's worth of workouts in an hour. they were developed for olympic athletes to help with endurance

and heart rate, but a new study shows most of us could do it. >> let's do it right now. >> well, thank you so much for being with us on "american morning." we will see you back here on monday. actually we will take a quick break and it's two minutes until the top of the hour. how can one nurse be in all these places? through the nurses she taught in this place. johnson & johnson knows, behind every nurse who touches a life... there's a nurse educator... who first touched them. ♪ you're a nurse ♪ you make a difference how do the editors of consumers digest determine if a car is a "best buy"?

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